Polar bear expert, Susan Crockford, has already debunked this theory, and pointed out that it is ice cover during spring which is critical, as this is when the bears consume most of their annual prey. Indeed, as she points out, when the ice is too thick, this can also cause problems.

And as we can see from the NSIDC map below, ice extent around Svalbard during spring this year was very little different to the long term average.